


Checking from behind

by Ellstra



Series: Kylux Ice Hockey AU [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sports, Courtship, First Dates, Ice Hockey AU, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-11-03 09:59:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10964928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellstra/pseuds/Ellstra
Summary: Armitage Hux was Kylo's idol as a teenager and now he's his coach. And he's hot. Kylo somehow ends up asking him out.





	Checking from behind

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was sort of inevitable considering the World Championship taking place. So here I am, posting an Ice Hockey AU during the finale because I'm stylish.  
> I'm actually so proud of the name of this fic, I think I've never come up with a better one. For those of you who don't know, checking from behind is an actual ice hockey foul. Priceless.  
> I'm putting this into a series because I haven't written all i wanted for the AU and there probably will be more.   
> I apologize for any mistakes in English terminology. I tried to google everything but you know.

The ice is bumpy and full of deep fissures after more than two hours of the game. The forwards lose their speed and maneuverability, and all the players are exhausted. The home fans are rabid, screaming and chanting as their underdog team gets closer and closer to a miraculous victory over a favorite. The music that plays during each break in the game is annoying and loud. The visitor coach is chewing a gum that’s lost all flavour. An assistant coach leans towards one of the defencemen, talking into his ear only.

“Ren, you can’t let them win. Whatever it takes.”

It’s not much of an advice, but it's enough for Kylo Ren. He nods and stands up when he sees Allen Hark near the bench. He jumps onto the ice without looking back, knowing assistant coach Hux is staring at him. 

They need to score, and their frantic, confused skating around will never get them there. Kylo waits for the rest of his line - the knights of Ren as their fans call them - to appear on the ice as he waits behind their goal playing with the puck. When they're in full strength, Kylo starts towards the neutral zone with Ian in the goal behind him. One of the opponents attacks Kylo’s stick, but he's no match for Ren who sends the puck towards Vitali. The tall Russian accepts the rapid pass and skates forward. Kylo frees himself and watches the game. 

Kylo is exhausted, just like the rest of the players. His legs burn and he’s breathing hard again. The game will be over soon and they’re still losing. Hux will give them hell if they lose against an outsider. Kylo just can’t accept that. 

He skates towards a player and stops right in front of him, steeling himself for the impact. He’s almost too tired to try this, but half-assing the game is what led them into this mess. The opponent hits him and as per expectation, falls to the ground, even loses his stick. Kylo wavers but stands, and he takes hold of the puck. He gets into the attacking zone easily until he’s stopped, and passes the puck to Andy, a Czech whose real name is unpronounceable to anyone but the other Czech on the team. Andy passes to Vitali, and Vitali to Elias, the incredibly agile center. Kylo is ready to drop dead on the ice but he skates directly in front of the goal, getting a clear view of it. The puck hits his stick perfectly, almost like it was meant to be, and he doesn’t think before sending it in the direction of the goal.

There’s a loud crack followed by a blow of a whistle. Vitali is first at Kylo’s side, clutching him in a bear hug, and then there’s Andy, Elias and Olaf all on him as well. Kylo grins. They head for the bench together. There are twenty seconds left of standard time. Kylo pours water from his bottle all over himself. It flows down his nose onto his jersey, but it’s so wet already, he can’t even see the traces left by the water. He spits down on the ground, his windpipe tasting like iron, and chews his teeth guard viciously. 

They win in the overtime, thanks to a goal scored by Jonathan Setter, a young and proud Canadian prodigy. Kylo hates him a little, but not more than he hates most of the people he interacts with. It’s a lousy victory, a toilworn one, and Kylo knows they’ll get hell for it. Which they do; with the promise of more to come during practice. 

Kylo zones out as he takes a shower. He doesn’t feel like talking to his friends, and they give him space. When he finally collects all his things and gets dressed, everyone is gone. He picks up his gear and throws it into his bag before throwing it over his shoulder. When he exits the stadium, the air is crispy but not as cold as it could be this time of the year. Kylo pulls his hat lower over his ears. 

“You were quiet today,” Hux says. He’s leaning against the building, smoking an electronic cigarette. Kylo jumps and curses under his breath.

“Are you a teenager or something?” he spits. He’s tired and hungry and not in the mood to deal with his anger at himself. Hux always knows where to jab to make it the most painful. 

“Watch your mouth, Ren,” Hux mutters, breathing out a silver cloud of sweet-smelling smoke. Kylo has to admit it’s a lot less annoying than tobacco cigarettes but that doesn’t mean it’s not lame. Something high-schoolers do to appear cool. “I wouldn’t have to smoke if you played well.”

“Oh no, don’t try to guilt-trip me into feeling responsible for your lung cancer.”

“These should be a lot less dangerous than regular cigs,” Hux shrugs.

“Nobody actually knows what they do,” Kylo points out, “some say they’re worse.”

“What do you want?”

“You started talking to me.”

“I did,” Hux nods, “I asked what happened to you. You played miserably today.”

Kylo doesn’t reply, partly because his preferred answer involves his fist and Hux’s face and he’s too tired for that. He grits his teeth and turns away from Hux without a word. He can see his car in the almost empty parking lot. He simply has to get to it and drive away. He’ll get something to eat and go through it in his car and then go for a long walk to sort his thoughts. Nice and simple.

“Ren! Wait!” 

Or not.

“Save your lectures for the practice,” he mutters and speeds up, “I’ll listen to them then.”

Hux doesn’t follow him further. If Ren wanted to say what was bothering him, he would have. Hux doesn’t really care anyways. Ren did score a goal, even if he was a little unimpressive during the match - he’s done more than most of his teammates. Still, Hux can see something is bothering Ren, and it’s not mere professional curiosity and worry for his team that drives it. 

…

When the practice is over the next day, Kylo lingers behind on the ice for until everyone has gone. Hux is still standing close to the benches, revising something on his tablet. Kylo isn’t sure Hux is aware they’re alone now, but he doesn’t want to miss his chance. 

“Hey, Hux,” he says, skating slowly towards the assistant coach. He leans against the boards and waits for Hux to acknowledge him, chewing his teeth guard with the right half of his molars, part of it sticking out of his mouth. 

“Oh,” Hux raises his head abruptly, “Ren. What are you still doing here?”

“I wanted to apologise,” Kylo says, “I was being a dick yesterday.”

“Now that's a first,” Hux replies.

“Don't make me take it back,” Kylo warns him, “I am sorry though.”

“Will you tell me what was wrong with you?” 

“I… My father got into a car accident,” Kylo mumbles. He knew Hux would ask. 

“You should have said something!”

“We haven't talked in ages. I didn't want to miss the match,” Kylo shrugs.

“You're an idiot,” Hux utters, “is he alright?”

“He's in a hospital but he should be fine.”

“Are you sure you don't want to go see him?”

“No, it's… I don't. I haven't seen him in years, and the last time I did, it wasn't on friendly terms.”

“Very well,” Hux nods, “if you say so.”

“Or would you prefer it if I left?”

“I’d prefer it if you played to the full extent of your abilities,” Hux says, “and didn’t hide things like that.”

“So we’re being honest with each other now?” Kylo asks, takes off his gloves and spits his teeth guard into his palm. He grins at Hux with his crooked, missing two teeth, smile. 

“Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like this?” Hux asks.

“I’m just curious...do you ever go skating?” Kylo asks, sheepish. He’s playing with the plastic thing, not really looking at himself. 

“I don’t,” Hux shakes his head, “I had an accident-”

“I know. I was...I was a fan of yours,” Kylo admits, “I was sad to see you leave. But then I got to work with you.”

“You never said that.”

“I didn’t want to sound creepy.”

“Fair enough.”

They stand in nervous silence for a long time. Kylo kicks the ice with the tip of his blade and makes a hole in it, Hux fixes his tie. Their eyes meet for a split second and they both let out a strained chuckle.

“Do you miss the ice?” Kylo asks.

“I do. I see you skating around, scoring my goals and I’m so jealous of you. I envy you your youth and strength,” Hux says wistfully.

“Could you at least skate? I know you can’t play, but if you had the ice for yourself?”    
Hux blinks in confusion.

“I’ve never thought of that. It’s always been everything or nothing for me.”

“Tell you what,” Kylo says, boldly, before he loses courage, “after next practice, you’ll skate with me. We can exchange some pucks even. If you want, that is.”

Hux stares at him for a while, and Kylo almost thinks he's gone too far. He's about to retract his offer when Hux nods.

“I would like that.”

Kylo grins again.

“Don't think I'll spare you just because you're old,” he warns Hux.

“I won't need your sympathy, Ren,” Hux raises one corner of his mouth in a hint of a smile, “I'm better than you, youngling.”

“We'll see,” Kylo shrugs, “bring your skates next time.”

…

Hux can't help his smile as he drives home, Ren’s broken grin still on his mind. Hux had his teeth fixed when he retired but his used to be much worse. It's silly, getting such a reaction to what Ren proposed, but no matter how Hux looks at it, it feels like a date to him. Ren had no reason to propose such a thing and yet he did, completely out of the blue. Hux hates himself for feeling so hopeful, knowing that getting too excited about something usually meant it wouldn't work out. 

He doesn't have time to take his coat and shoes off before Millicent is on him, rubbing herself against his calves. He smiles and bends down to pet her and she nuzzles his palm. 

“Hello, Millie,” he smiles, “I'll get you something to eat, wait up.”

Hux checks her bowls and gives her a treat because he feels like it. She rewards him by staying by his side as he makes his own meal.

“I wish I could get you somewhere near him so that you could tell me if he's worth it,” Hux tells the cat and sighs, “you've always had better taste in men than I did.”

Millicent jumps onto a tabouret and watches Hux for a while and then outstretches her leg and begins to lick herself clean.

“Really?” Hux asks as he throws onion onto a frying pan. Millie ignores him.

…

“You seem cheerful,” Vitali says in his thick accent as they warm up.

“I'm happy to be here with you,” Kylo replies, “and I took a good shit in the morning.”

“You're lying,” Vitali protests, his rattling  _ r  _ accusing.

“I'm not.”

He is though. He's smiled at Hux at the beginning of practice and the coach returned the gesture. He's caught Hux’s eyes on himself during breaks and earned a clap for a particularly thought-through combination. Elias mimics kissing when Hux isn’t looking, and Kylo has just enough self-control not to strangle him. He’s never telling his roommate anything if he’s going to act like a fucking teenager. 

It was his own fault though. He shouldn’t have come home grinning like an idiot when he’s sharing a place with his teammate. It’s almost freaky how much time they spend together. Elias once joked they should sleep together to get that last thing out of the way. Kylo knows an uncomfortable amount of gross things about Elias he’d prefer to never think about but sleeping with him was seriously off the table. You don’t shit where you eat, and Kylo’s been quite good at not having flings with someone from the team. Mostly because he was busy imagining Hux pinning him to the bed.

Of course Elias could tell there was something off. What was more disturbing was his question: “Did you finally ask Hux out?”

“Excuse me?” Kylo managed to keep a straight face.

“Are you really going to pretend you don’t have a crush on him?” Elias raised an eyebrow, “Don’t insult my intelligence.”

Kylo swallowed his protest. “At least let me get something to eat first, I’m starving.”

Kylo managed to make Elias promise not to tell their teammates until after the date - if it is a date, that is, Kylo isn’t so sure even if Elias keeps insisting - and that was a small victory but better than nothing. 

When the practice is over, he stays behind, skating slowly to the bench. Hux looks up from a tablet and smiles. Kylo’s heart jumps into his throat and he hopes his flush will look like it’s from exertion. Fuck Elias for all his talking honestly. Kylo was completely in control of the situation but now all he can think of is wrestling Hux for a puck and knocking him down onto the ice and trying to kiss him but they’re still wearing their helmets so they bump into each other and they laugh and then Kylo tears his helmet off and then gently removes Hux’s and they kiss-

“-wait for me?” Hux asks and Kylo wakes up from a trance. He blinks at Hux and nods, hoping Hux didn’t ask him something. 

“Yeah sure,” he adds to sound in control of the situation.

“Wonderful,” Hux says and disappears. Kylo tries hard to dig up Hux’s question from his mind and he feels awful for imagining kissing Hux instead of actually listening to the man. He hopes he’s correct to assume Hux has gone to change into his hockey gear. He picks up the puck again and skates around instead of standing awkwardly by the benches. The ice is terribly empty and he feels out of place, like he’s somewhere he shouldn’t go. The goal is empty and the stadium is quiet. Kylo skates fast, ignoring his fatigue, to block out the eerie silence. His blades graze the ice with a satisfying noise and he sends the puck to the other side of the rink, barely missing the goal. He skates over to pick it and try to score into the other goal. He succeeds this time and exclaims happily as the puck hits the inner post. 

“Is that seriously enough to make you happy?” 

Kylo turns to the bench and he feels like the man in a romcom who watches his awkward t-shirt-and-jeans-only love interest dress up and descend the stairs. Except Hux is wearing an outdated jersey and a helmet. (He’s much more gorgeous than the girls though.)

“Can’t I be content?” he asks when he recovers from his shock, but he’s too late, and he thinks Hux must have noticed. 

“I just wanted to say that I think you can do better.”

“With an empty rink?” 

“You’re right,” Hux replies and steps onto the ice. He seems a little unsure, probably worried about his knee, so Kylo skates over to him. 

“How long haven’t you skated?” he asks. Hux’s steps get surer and longer and soon Kylo doesn’t have to hold back. They go round the rink a few times.

“Since the accident,” Hux says. He doesn’t have to tell Kylo how long it has been.

“Does it hurt?” he asks, worried. He wouldn’t want Hux to injure himself.

“Not at all,” Hux reassures him. 

“Okay.”

“Let’s try some one on one situations,” Hux suggests. Kylo makes a mental note to scream at Elias as he pushes a different sort of one on one situation involving the two of them out of his mind. He should probably scream at himself for going months without sex too.

“Okay,” he nods, “I’ll be careful.”

“Thank you.”

How does everything sound like an innuendo? Kylo turns to stand with his back to the goal while Hux skates over to the other end of the rink. He looks much bigger with all his equipment on but he’s still slight compared to Kylo. He’s lost some weight since he stopped playing but he’s always been thinner. His strength used to be speed - he outskated his opponents before they could take advantage of his size.

Hux plays with the puck a little, watching it jump back and forth between the forehand and backhand side of the blade before he looks up at Ren. He can already feel the rush of being back on the ice coursing through him, although he’s quite sure Ren is a part of it. Hux wishes he wouldn’t feel so weightless and happy when Ren smiled at him in the beginning of practice.

He nods at Ren, signing he’s ready, and skates forward. He turns slightly to the left to see if he can provoke Ren into action but the defenceman is not so easily swayed. Good. They worked hard on his impulse control. Hux stops suddenly and spins to the right while sending a backhand shot towards the goal. He plays left while Ren is right, and he wouldn’t get the puck behind Ren on the forehand side. He hears a clatter and smirks when Ren turns around just in time to see the puck leave the goal as it bounces from the inner post. 

“How,” Ren breathes out but it’s not an actual question. 

“You used to be my fan, didn’t you?” Hux says nonchalantly although he’s just as surprised as Ren. He skates over to pick a puck and plays with it again. He nears Ren and makes a sudden dodge right before him, spins around him and stops face to face with him again. 

“Okay now you’re showing off,” Ren mutters and takes the puck from Hux.

“So how about you show me how you’re better than me,” Hux proposes. Ren nods and skates over to the other side, circling the opposite goal and gaining speed with each stride. He looks menacing, and Hux is afraid for a second Ren will forget about his knee and just run him over like he would an opponent, but Ren takes a very wide turn and outskates Hux by the virtue of his momentum alone. His shot ends up comfortably in the goal.

“Good one!” Hux praises, “This might be a good exercise for you - that there are other things than just knocking people down with all that muscle.”

“I’m not going to oppose you, but you should realise I’m the best at knocking people down,” Ren protests but he grins. It looks terrifying with his teeth guard still in.

“I am aware,” Hux nods, “let’s see how you can block me without knocking me over.”

They spend an hour on the ice, taking turns in the roles, and Hux is sure by the end of it that he’s in love with Ren. Playing against him is something else entirely than watching him from the bench, and Hux feels regret that he never got the chance to face Ren in an actual match. But even Ren’s stamina is not limitless, and Hux doesn’t want to drive Ren beyond the point of exhaustion.

“Okay, that’s enough for today,” he announces. He’s tired himself, and his knee is beginning to protest. 

“Just one more round,” Ren pleads, “let’s just skate around together.”

Hux agrees, mostly because there’s nothing wrong with cooling down after practice. They dump their sticks onto the bench and just skate around side by side, slowly, like a couple on a date. Hux wants to take Ren’s hand but it wouldn’t have the desired effect in their thick gloves. So they just skate. 

“Are you sure you haven’t skated since your accident?” Ren asks during their third round.

“I am sure.”

“Then how do you keep up with me?”

“Are you insinuating I’m old?”

“Well you are!” Ren exclaims, “You’re basically a different generation.”

“You’re making it sound like I’m twenty years older than you,” Hux says calmly, rather amused by Ren’s response.

“Nine years, two months and seventeen days,” Ren blurts out.

“That wasn’t creepy at all.”

“I was really obsessed with you as a teenager, okay?” 

“And now?” Hux asks and stops in front of Ren, blocking him. Full hockey gear is definitely not helping the romance in their situation, but Hux supposes it won’t matter. If Ren is going to say yes, he’ll do it in a helmet. And if he’s to say no, Hux would prefer it this way than with roses and candles.

“I like to think it’s more of rational adult admiration,” Ren chuckles and he avoids Hux’s eyes. His cheeks turn red and that gives Hux the courage to ask: “Do you have any plans for tonight or will you just watch TV with Mäkinen while you eat pizza from the box?”

“I can’t believe you just asked me out and insulted me in the same sentence,” Ren shakes his head, “what’s the better option you have to offer?”

“That depends on you. A fancy dinner? Eating pizza and watching TV but with me? Something more unconventional? A theater?” Hux babbles.

“Fancy dinner sounds amazing,” Ren smiles, “but I’ll have to drop by my flat to get some fancy clothes for that.”

“You mean you’ll trend your Iron Maiden shirt for a Kiss one?” 

“I might even put on clean socks,” Ren retorts, and Hux supposes he deserved it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://ellstra.tumblr.com/) or [twitter!](https://twitter.com/EllstraH)


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